


Worry, Worry, Worry

by Annide



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [15]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Worried Evan "Buck" Buckley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24635080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: No matter how many times Buck gets told that he will be safe, when Eddie accepts to be serial killer bait, Buck worries about him.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667122
Comments: 3
Kudos: 139





	Worry, Worry, Worry

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Bad Things Happen Bingo: Used as Bait (requested by ciaimpala on tumblr)

When Buck arrived at the firehouse that morning, he was surprised to see Athena’s squad car upfront. He was surprised not to hear Bobby cooking upstairs. He was surprised not to run into Eddie either in the parking lot or the locker room. But most of all, he was taken aback by the sight of the three of them, discussing something in Bobby’s office. Behind a closed door. It was odd. Bobby hardly ever used his office at all, usually preferring to fill his paperwork up in the kitchen. And even when he did, for private, important conversations, he kept the door open. Buck couldn’t remember another time when he’d seen that door closed in the past few years he’d worked here.

Whatever was happening seemed serious. From where he stood, Buck could see a crease in Eddie’s forehead, and worry in Bobby’s eyes. Athena had her back to him, but the way she stood was telling. It wasn’t relaxed at all, she stood firm, all business-like. The way she often did while on duty, which she had to be. Their conversation looked very serious and Buck’s first thought was that something must’ve happened to Christopher. He couldn’t take his eyes off of them, dread and horror quickly filling his mind as he imagined the worst. But he had to stay calm and composed, strong for Eddie, just in case he wasn’t overreacting and jumping to conclusions.

After a few minutes, they finally came out of the office. Athena first, as Bobby opened the door for her. He walked with her all the way to her squad car to say goodbye. Eddie followed out, a serious look on his face, like he was deep in thought about something. He had barely made two steps out of the room that Buck was already next to him. He let out a sigh, though he smiled. He’d expected Buck to show up at his side and it was comforting to know he could always count on that.

“Hey, what was that about? It looked serious.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s not Christopher, is it?”

“What? No, Buck, Christopher’s fine.” He stopped, thoughtful. Realisation seemed to dawn on his face. “I might need you to take him for a day or two though. If you don’t mind, of course.”

“Whatever you need. You know I’m always happy to spend time with him. But, tell me, what’s going on?”

“I told you, I don’t want you to worry about it.”

“Yeah, that just makes it sound like I _should_ be worried, but maybe if you keep the details from me, I might be spared the trouble.”

“You think I care that much about your feelings?”

“Just tell me then.”

“Look, it’s fine, Athena will make sure nothing happens to me, alright? Now, how about we go join the others?”

“You know all you did is worry me more, right?”

The sounds of the alarm filled the firehouse, starting their shift off with a band and saving Eddie from a conversation he was clearly happy to avoid a while longer. Buck dropped it as they ran to grab their gear and climb into the trucks. As they were putting everything back in the truck at the end of the call, before they could go back to the station, Bobby joined Buck who was rolling back hoses.

“You know, Buck, I don’t want you to worry too much. Eddie will be fine. Athena wouldn’t have asked him to help if she wasn’t completely sure they could put everything in place to keep him safe.” Bobby put a hand on Buck’s shoulder and looked him right in the eyes. “Besides, Eddie can take care of himself, nothing’s gonna happen.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He didn’t tell you? I thought you two told each other everything.”

“You’re not the only one concerned about me worrying too much.”

“Oh. I see. I should’ve thought about this, considering... Never mind, it’ll be fine, I promise.”

Buck wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but Bobby had already left to go check on the others and make sure they’d be ready to go soon. On the surface, you could think he meant to say, considering they were best friends, but that’s not how it sounded, that’s not what his tone seemed to imply. Though, maybe Buck was simply reading too much into it. Yeah, he definitely was.

The ride back to the station was unusually quiet. Buck couldn’t wait until they got back to the firehouse, where Hen and Chimney’s voice would certainly fill the silence and make things less awkward. Bobby was sitting in his usual seat upfront, occasionally turning around to throw a concerned look toward the boys. Eddie was intently staring out of the window, avoiding them, and determined not to talk about whatever was going on. But he couldn’t keep Buck at bay forever.

As soon as they parked, and Bobby made his way back to the kitchen to finish getting breakfast ready, Buck pulled Eddie with him to the bunk room. Eddie didn’t resist, he sighed in resignation and followed, his eyes locked on the fingers wrapped around his wrist. He only looked up once Buck let go and closed the door behind them. Buck was staring at him with determined eyes, he was on edge and wouldn’t let this go.

“I knew you’d get like this. Did Bobby tell you?”

“Bobby didn’t tell me anything you hadn’t already told me. But the fact he thought he needed to reassure me worried me more.”

Eddie put both of his hands on Buck’s shoulders and met his eyes. He kept his expression soft and calm. Buck knew he wasn’t going to like whatever he was about to say, but he couldn’t help feeling safe as he felt him so close to him, and so steady. At least as far as his body was concerned, because as soon as he started talking, Buck could hear how nervous he was through a slight quiver in his voice.

“You know how I had that street fighting phase?”

“Oh no, it’s about that serial killer I’ve heard about on the news, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, apparently he finds his victims in those kinds of places. And since I know a bit about it and can handle myself well in a fight, Athena asked if I could go undercover to try and sniff him out.”

“So she wants you to be the bait.”

Eddie let his arms fall back to his side. He’d hoped Buck wouldn’t catch that, but his best friend was too smart not to see right through his careful wording.

“Look, Buck, I don’t want you to worry, alright. She will take all the necessary precautions. I’ll be fine.” He took a breath. His stare fell to their shoes. “But I don’t want Chris to see me all beat up and bloody. You can still take him until next shift, right?”

“Of course, I already agreed.” Buck put his finger under Eddie’s chin and gently lifted his head up so he could look him in the eyes again. “You know I’d do anything for you, right? But don’t die, because I couldn’t handle that.”

“You’d find a new best friend in no time.” Eddie tried to joke. “One much better than I am.”

“No, I wouldn’t.” Buck hesitated for a minute, unsure he wanted to say more. “Eddie, I... uh... You’re all I want.”

“You’re just saying that because you think I’ll get hurt, you don’t really think that.”

Buck could see it all in Eddie’s eyes. The lack of self-esteem, the thought that he could never be enough for anybody, that all he did was disappoint Christopher and everyone around him over and over again. It pained him to see it. And he couldn’t possibly let him infiltrate a fighting ring to get targeted by a serial killer like this. Eddie needed all the confidence he could get if he was going to put himself in danger like that. So Buck leaned down, slowly, giving Eddie the chance to back away if he wanted to. He moved at a very slow pace, his eyes locked with Eddie’s when he wasn’t glancing down at his lips.

It was almost like everything around them melted. Nothing existed beyond the two of them. Eddie was staring expectantly as the distance between their faces got smaller and smaller. Finally, Buck deposited a soft kiss on Eddie’s lips. He kept it slow, wanting nothing more than to get him to feel how much love he had for him. Eddie craved for more. He put his hands on Buck’s hips and pushed him against the wall. Buck chuckled at the move, but Eddie quickly shut him up by deepening their kiss. He wanted to feel him close against him, he didn’t want to ever let him go.

It seemed to be a rule of the universe that whenever they got comfortable or really started enjoying themselves, they always got a call. Always. This was no different. Eddie groaned and let his head fall back in frustration when the alarm once again cut short what they were doing.

“Not as happy to be interrupted this time, are you?” Buck mocked.

Eddie rolled his eyes and they ran out to join the others. Bobby silently asked if they were good. Buck let out a small laugh, granting him a shove toward the truck from Eddie who nodded an answer. Bobby seemed satisfied and no one mentioned Eddie helping Athena for what remained of their shift. And they certainly didn’t bring up what happened in the bunk room.

There was some confusion in Christopher’s eyes when Eddie left him at Buck’s the next day after school. He was excited to spend time with Buck, but it was the first time he’d slept over there. It was especially strange because his father had the same time off and he gave no explanation for why he wouldn’t be around. Buck had suggested he go stay at the house with Christopher while Eddie stayed at his apartment, but Eddie felt like it would only bring on more questions.

Hours after putting Christopher to bed down on the couch, Buck was tossing and turning up in his own bed, unable to fall asleep. He stood and walked down the stairs to check on the kid a few times, but, of course, Christopher was sleeping peacefully, thankfully unaware of what his father was up to. Buck, however, wasn’t that lucky. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. The thought of something happening to Eddie was making it impossible for him to settle down. He tried to quiet the voices telling him everything that could go wrong, like an endless stream of fear and horror. Nothing would do. He could only lie down and stare up at the ceiling, trying not to let the worry eat him alive.

It was nearly three in the morning when his phone buzzed. He wasn’t asleep, but he was somewhere in between, feeling exhausted, his eyelids too heavy to open, but still not quite able to fall all the way into slumber. He extended his arm toward the bedside table to grab his phone. Whoever was texting him at this hour had to have a good reason. The fog cleared as soon as he read the message. It was from Eddie. He was right outside the door, but didn’t want to risk waking Christopher up by using the doorbell. Buck went to open the door for him, locked it back up and led him upstairs quietly, both of them throwing a quick glance toward the couch to make sure Christopher was still asleep.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Buck whispered as he sat Eddie down on his bed. He then went to the bathroom to wet a towel and grab first aid supplies.

“It was a rough night, but I’m fine. I won all of my fights.”

“Did you? Because your face tells a different story.” Buck added a bit of peroxide on the towel and started cleaning up all the cuts and bruises on his face.

“Yeah, that fighting ring is more intense than what I was used to. But there’s no way I didn’t catch that killer’s attention.”

“Great, that’s just great.” Buck realised he would prefer not to hear the details, worried enough as it was. “Aren’t you worried about him following you here though?”

“Athena said it’s not his M.O. to stalk his victims. He prefers attacking them at the end of the night when they’re leaving the fights all banged up.”

“Oh, that’s reassuring.”

“I know you’re worried, but Athena and her team are watching all of the exits. They won’t let anything happen to me.”

“Except getting beaten to a pulp apparently.”

“Kiss it better? It always works when I do it for Christopher.”

“You’re not funny.”

Buck finished cleaning up all the blood, then he put sweet butterfly kisses on each and every one of the cuts and bruises. Eddie smiled so big, it made him cringe in pain, but he still assured Buck it helped. They settled down under the covers, Buck cuddling behind Eddie and wrapping him tightly into his arms. Knowing they were both safe, at least for now, they fell asleep in no time.

When Buck woke up, Eddie’s head was buried in his chest. He looked very peaceful there, despite a bruise on his eye having turned a purplish blue that made his face look even more worrisome than it had before. Christopher was calling for him, a much earlier riser than he was but thankfully unable to come upstairs to get him, so Buck gently moved Eddie to the side and walked down to the living room.

“Good morning, Buck!”

“Good morning, buddy! Sleep well?”

“Yes. What’s for breakfast?”

“I don’t know, what do you feel like?”

“Pancakes!”

“Perfect, I’ll get right on that.”

Buck went to the kitchen and got out everything he needed, throwing a quick look up to the mezzanine to see if Eddie might be up. Christopher came to sit at the table to watch him cook, he’d always liked hanging out with him. But then he’d always been good with kids.

“You sleep well?”

“You know, I had some trouble falling asleep, but then I slept like a baby.”

He’d never slept better than he had with Eddie in his arms, but he wasn’t about to say that. Christopher couldn’t know his dad was right upstairs, he was too beat up for his son to see. Once the pancakes were ready, Buck made two plates, complete with fruit, and brought them to the coffee table.

“What do you say we eat in front of the TV and watch cartoons?”

The idea was obviously very popular. Buck finished eating first. He took advantage of Christopher being distracted to get another plate ready with the extras he’d made and sneak it upstairs under the pretext of jumping in the shower. He rubbed Eddie’s shoulder until he started to stir and kissed him.

“Morning.” He said in a low voice. “I assumed you wouldn’t want Chris to know you’re here, so I brought you breakfast.”

“I’ll have to remember to thank Bobby for teaching you how to cook, this looks delicious.”

“Funny. Alright, well, enjoy. I have to shower.”

After he was showered and dressed, which was easier said than done with Eddie constantly trying to pull him back into bed, making endless comments about how good he looked, Buck reminded Eddie to be safe, kissed him and went back downstairs. He washed the dishes while Christopher got dressed. It was Saturday, the sun was shining, it was a perfect day to go to the zoo. They had a lot of fun. Christopher loved seeing all of the animals and Buck enjoyed teaching him about them all. They even rode the carousel. They had a great day and were happily exhausted by the end of it.

Eddie was gone by the time they came back to the apartment. Until then Buck had completely forgotten about him being serial killer bait, but it was all rushing back now, the fear and the worry. He did his best to keep it all inside and not let Christopher see any of it. They had dinner, played some games, read a little and then it was bedtime. Buck spent the rest of his evening researching things on his laptop, relaxing things that had nothing to do with the present situation, like stars.

It was so strange for him to have Carla around while he finished getting ready for shift. Christopher asked if his dad was also working that day, and why he couldn’t come by on his way to see him. All questions Buck also asked himself. Carla had to come up with answers, because he had barely gotten any sleep, falling for an hour or two at a time only to wake up again and have to start over with the whole process of falling asleep. Buck hugged Christopher goodbye and left for work.

“Stop pacing like that, Buck, you’re driving us all crazy.” Bobby said half an hour later.

He’d been waiting for him when he arrived, prepared to share what he knew. Somehow, he figured Buck would be bombarding him with questions. He wasn’t surprised to see him so frantic. He tried to get him to calm down as he explained that everything had gone according to plan. Athena had made her arrest and Eddie would be able to make it to shift, though possibly a little late. Bobby had suggested he sit this one out since he hadn’t slept, but, of course, Eddie had insisted he was fine.

They were all standing downstairs waiting for him to arrive, curious to hear more about it. Bobby leaned against the stairwell ramp, Hen and Chimney simply stood around and Buck paced back and forth across the floor. Watching him was making them all nervous. Until Eddie finally showed up and he stopped right in his tracks. Buck practically ran to meet him. He locked him in a tight hug, resting his head on his shoulder. Eddie wrapped his arms around his waist.

“It’s okay, Buck. I’m alright, everything’s fine.”

“You worried me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should’ve texted.”

“I know.”

They kissed, happy everything had worked out. They heard people whistle. Working there was the same as working with children sometimes, it was like they’d never seen two people kissing before. Bobby was smiling, a look on his face like he wasn’t surprised by this. But then, his having figured out they had feelings for each other explained so much. Eddie took Buck’s hand and started walking toward the others.

“Let’s get you to sleep, you look terrible.”

“I look better than you.” Buck pointed out.

“How about you both get some rest?” Bobby said, knowing they both needed it.

The alarm would wake them up if they got a call, so they headed to the bunks. They cuddled together and Buck buried his face in the crook of Eddie’s neck. This time, he was the one to fall asleep in Eddie’s arms. They’d finally admitted their feelings for each other, a serial killer had been caught and they were safe, basking in each other’s warmth. All and all, a great weekend.


End file.
